


Fluffy, Warm, Chocolate Covered Heartbeats

by fanficdumpsterdiving



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: :'-), Also...there are a few tears involved, But are they happy or sad ones?, Chocolate marshmellows, Fluff, Gen, My fanart included, Other, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Who or what is Moka?, With comforting eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 09:30:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8367193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanficdumpsterdiving/pseuds/fanficdumpsterdiving
Summary: For as long as he could remember, he had always wished for the same thing every year for his birthday.Most kids asked their parents for a shiny brand-new bike. Or perhaps the most popular game or toy at the time. Other young skaters like him probably pleaded for the newest pair of skates. But he was different from most kids—in more ways than one. And despite the fact that his pleas over the years were so numerous that they could fill an entire skating rink, his request—the same one that he'd had from the time he’d became old enough to form words—was one his parents were unable to offer him.Nevertheless, he settled for Moka.





	

  
  


  


For as long as he could remember, he had always wished for the same thing every year for his birthday.

Most kids asked their parents for a shiny, neon-colored bike. Or perhaps the most popular game or toy at the time. Other young skaters like him probably pleaded for the newest pair of skates. But he was different from most kids—in more ways than one. And despite the fact that his pleas over the years were so numerous that they could fill an entire skating rink, his request—the same one that had remained the same from the time he’d become old enough to form words—was one his parents were unable to offer him.

Nevertheless, he settled for Moka.

Viktor had always loved dogs. His favorite types of course were poodles. What was there to not love about them? They were fluffy, friendly, and reminded him of big, soft pieces of chocolate covered marshmallows with shiny comforting eyes. Even seeing one in the street was enough to brighten up his day no matter how bad it may have felt before.

And while he’d accumulated many things related to dogs, ranging from paw stickers to bone-shaped pencil cases, Moka was Viktor’s most prized possession (right after his skates). Though it was worn down, dull, and fraying at the ends, that beloved stuffed animal was something he couldn’t part with—refused to part with—because Moka wasn’t just some plaything to him.

He’d received Moka when he was much younger, too young to even remember his parents giving it to him. The name was partially due to its mocha-colored faux fur. It wasn’t clear who exactly had named it, but either way the name had stuck…and so did its honorary title as Best Pet Dog (That’s Not a Real Pet Dog) in the World.

Though he knew his parents had probably tried their best to get him something that mimicked the real thing, Moka could never be as fluffy as the dogs Viktor would always stop and hug whenever he was out and about with his parents. Nor could it ever look back at him with wet black eyes full of life and actually see him. It could never hear the stories he would tell it about practice, about how his day went, and about how lonely he felt sometimes.

Even with all of Moka’s shortcomings, Viktor still loved it just as much as he was sure he had when he had first gotten it. But that didn’t stop him from feeling a small pang of disappointment ever so often when he would hold Moka in his arms and couldn’t feel a heartbeat against his chest. Viktor had resigned himself long ago to waiting until he was old enough to get his own dog, a real dog. His parents were well aware of his fondness of pups, but between getting him to and from meets, working, and keeping up with his training, they’d all but said that adding a new family member wasn’t ever going to be a part of the plan.

Over time, Viktor pressed less and less about the topic, having to focus on the increasing number of ice skating events that also came along with higher degrees of difficulty. Every match always brought varying feelings. Excitement was the major one, but often he’d feel a small clump of nerves lying right underneath the surface. While he’d been excelling and winning every game he’d competed in so far, his next match had him worried. But it wasn’t about his routine.

He’d practiced every spin, every turn, every jump so many times he could practically perform the entire routine in his sleep. But he had a good reason to be stressed for his next match because since the day prior, he’d been feeling a dull throbbing in his throat and all over his head. He could feel that he was coming down with something, probably a cold or the flu, but he was adamant about not sitting this one out, especially after all the effort he’d put in so far. This was his first big boy meet, competing in the higher division, something he had never done before. Most importantly, he knew that his parents would make him sit the game out if they knew he was ill. He wasn’t about to let that happen.

The morning of his match, his body felt like it was rebelling against him, just as he had feared. The slight throbbing in his throat had intensified to a burn that made him feel like he’d gnawed on an entire pepper throughout the night. And his body… his muscles ached all over. Fortunately, his symptoms were not visible ones, which meant he could continue to hide them. So he sipped his water and avoided speaking as much as he could. The ride to the match was a quiet one, which was unusual, and though his mother threw him a few worried glances, he was certain she just assumed it was the nerves that had him tight lipped. Viktor petted Moka the entire way over, hoping it’d give him a bit of good luck though it wasn’t often that he felt as though he needed it.

However, no amount of luck—not even from Moka—could have stopped the inevitable.

He’d managed to get through most of his routine even as his head throbbed harder and his throat seemed clench so tightly he felt as though someone had a fist around his small neck. But it wasn’t until he went to land his flying sit spin that he lost his balance and his hopes of placed crashed along with his body. He hit the ice with a thud, his bottom cushioning his fall but unable to soften the blow to his pride. It was devastating to have gotten so far and so close to making it through those few short minutes of the ice, just to fail on a simple move he’d aced so many times before.

On the way back home, Viktor remained slumped in the back of the seat, fiddling with his seatbelt. All he wanted to do was push away the thoughts of his embarrassing blunder in front of all those people, along with the piercing sting of defeat. Though he tried his best to hold back the tears, but it didn’t take very long to lose at that as well. All he could do was sniffle as his mother tried her best to console him, turning around ever so often to rub his leg soothingly and offer him words of encouragement. All Viktor could do was just squeeze Moka closer to his chest before giving in to sleep.

He woke up to a slight nudging on his knee. It took him a few moments to become lucid enough to realize that they’d finally made it back home. His mother stood right beside him, car door open as she unbuckled his seatbelt and helped him out of the car.

‘There’s a surprise waiting for you inside,” she said with a big grin on her face.

Viktor didn’t like surprises. He loved them. But between feeling like his legs were about to give out and the growing stuffiness in his nose, he wasn’t up for it—whatever it was. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and rest his extra sore body and forget the entire day. Nonetheless, he nodded his head anyway, expecting that his surprise was probably a congratulatory toy for a competition he hadn’t won.

They entered their home and there his father sat on the couch with a newspaper in his hand. He’d probably seen the match on TV; he generally didn’t miss going to any if work didn’t get in the way. He got up and walked over to Viktor, kneeling down to give him a big sympathetic hug that Viktor wholly accepted.

“There’ll be other matches, son. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

His father rose back up and patted Viktor’s head.

“Well your mother and I got you a gift,” he said turn to a box that sat right beside the couch that Viktor hadn’t noticed earlier. 

“We’ve been thinking about this for…well, for some time now. And we both think you’re old enough to be responsible.”

Feeling a mixture of confusion and curiosity Viktor cautiously walked over to the box. “What is it?” he asked. He knelt down wobbly in front of it. There was no packaging; it was just a plain cardboard box with a lid on top. But then it moved—the box moved—and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly tore of the lid off and—

A ball of brown fur immediately jumped directly up at him and he found himself on his back as he closed his eyes in a moment panic that stunned him. But then he felt a warm tongue vigorously licking his face.

Viktor peeked his eyes open cautiously. All he could see was fluff…brown fluffiness. And lots of it. And eyes, two black eyes looking back at him. And a cool wet nose that had begun nudge at him. And just like that, every bad thought from the day’s earlier events just…disappeared. It was like they’d never even existed in the first place.

“We—or I guess I should say I picked him up today since your Mom was with you at the match. We’ve been to the shop several times to check him out and make sure we chose the right one for you. He’s already trained and pretty well behaved.” His father chuckled and scratched his head. Honestly this is our first time seeing him so full of energy!”

Viktor finally lifted himself up—which was not small feat. The dog was big, much bigger than he’d expected a dog in that sized box to be. The poodle shifted to his in his lap and Viktor wrapped his hands around it and closed his eyes. He had to be the softest dog in the universe. His fur felt like pieces of a cloud clumped together. He smelled a bit like shampoo, some sort of minty type, but mostly of…well, dog. Not that Viktor minded one bit. And although he may have looked like any other dogs, Viktor could tell that this one was different; he was special.

He remained that way for a while, clasping onto the dog—his dog—while warm, quick pants pervaded his ears. Having taken a moment to soak in the fact that he now how his own poodle, a new friend, Viktor finally looked up at his parents. It took a bit of effort to choke out the words ‘thank you’ between the small sobs that had begun to form in his throat as he cried for the second time that day. This time was different, however. They were happy tears.

“Do you know what you’re going to name him?”

Viktor shook his head as he wiped his own cheeks…not that he needed much help. The big, brown marshmallow in front of him didn’t look like it planned to stop licking his face any time soon, (not that Viktor was complaining). “Is he staying with me tonight?”

His parents looked at each other before looking back at him. “Well, of course since he’s your dog now…and also your responsibility. Which means you’ll also be the one to feed him, clean him, pick up his—”

Viktor shook his head again, a small frown on his face. “No, I mean…will it be okay for him?” He lowered his voice before continuing. “Since I’m…I think I’m getting sick.”

There was a small pause. His parents shared a look between them again before looking back at him. It was his mother who went over to him. She gave him a small smile as she got down beside him. “No, sweetie,” she said gently, placing a hand of his forehead. “He won’t be able to catch anything from you. We, on the other hand,” she said, gesturing to herself and his father, “may not be so lucky.” She gave a small chuckle before getting back to go grab some medicine. “Next time, say something, okay sweetie?”

That night, Viktor led his surprisingly energetic friend to his new home (his bedroom), all the while trying his best not to trip over that big wagging tail. Still not completely convinced that the dog wasn’t in danger of catching his cold, he tried his best to block all his coughs and sneezes when those symptoms started. The dog hopped on the bed as Viktor stood there blocking his coughs with the sleeves of his pajamas. Black eyes stared into his blue ones, waiting expectantly for him to climb in.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Viktor whispered with a smile. He crawled into his bed, pulling up the covers carefully so as to not disturb his canine friend too much. But as if reading his thoughts, the dog got up and settled on top of the pillows right next to him, deciding it preferred to rest of its side.

Viktor laid down and pulled the covers up to his chest as the ball of fur readjusted himself on the pillows, opting to remain right beside him (instead of by his feet like he read most pets do). Viktor turned onto his side, his face only a few inches away, and petted the dog. He couldn’t get enough of how soft he was. And how real he felt. It truly did feel like a dream come true and part of him didn’t want to go to sleep because he feared that when he woke up, the dog, his dog wouldn’t be there.

“What should I name you?” Viktor wondered aloud, watching the dog’s chest rise and fall and out with a lopsided smile on his fuzzy face. He lifted his head, almost as if he understood the question. (Deep down, Viktor believed that maybe he did.)

Viktor scratched his head as he mulled over potential names in his head for a long while. He wanted the name to be extra special. One that would match his new friend who was so incredibly nice, and warm, and so full of life and energy, and already so important to him.

Finally, it came to him like an epiphany. Leaning over excitedly, he lifted one of the dog’s ears up and whispered into it, as if they weren’t the only ones in the room. “I hope you like it,” Viktor grinned as he leaned back onto his pillow.

“I know we just met today and all,” he continued, blinking heavily as exertion of completion and being sick finally caught up with him. “But…but I hope you know that you’re my best fr—.”

He paused, quickly turning his head and covering his mouth as he coughed for several seconds. When he was sure that the fit was over, he turned back around to look into eyes that peered back at him with concern.

“You’re my best friend now,” he managed to finished when he finally caught his breath. He gave said best friend a hug, feeling guilty for worrying him. “And I love you already.”

His four-legged companion let out a loud bark and Viktor giggled as he tried to shush him. He yawned before leaning in closer and placing his head beside other’s side onceagain.

“Goodnight, Makkachin.”

Though Viktor tossed and turned and coughed all throughout the night, the steady thumping of Makkachin’s heartbeat next to him made it one of the happiest nights of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote fluff (not of the romantic sort, lol) for the first time! Whoot whoot! For more short stories (and art!), head over to [my Tumblr ⁽(◍˃̵͈̑ᴗ˂̵͈̑)⁽](https://goo.gl/3x73Q7), which will be the main home to all of my short stories and drabbles for YOI. Let me know what you think below!


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